Ferro-cement boats
Facts & Falacies
(1)....A
30ft 8ton displacement sailboat built in ferro-cement weighs
8tons.
A 30ft 8ton displacement sailboat built in GRP/FRP
weighs 8tons.
A 30ft 8ton displacement sailboat built in wood weighs
8tons.
(2)....GRP/FRP
(glass or fibre reinforced plastic), is a method of construction
developed from SRP (steel reinforced plaster, now known
as ferro-cement).
(2a)....The
advantage of the action of Osmosis on ferroboat hulls, is
reversed to
a disadvantage on GRP/FRP constructed hulls.
(3)....A
wood constructed boat with a hole in it will sink at the same
rate as a
ferro-cement one.
(4)....Nothing
lasts forever...even a ferroboat.
(5)....The
biggest disadvantage of a ferro-cement hull in the eyes of
the
surveyer, is it's almost unique individuality.
(6)....An
estimated 11,000 Hartley ferroboats have been built worldwide.
(7)....The
first solo crossing of the Tasman Sea, was made in a home-built
ferro-cement Hartley 'Tasman 33'.
(8)....The
earliest known ferroboat still in existence, was built by
Lambot
in France in 1848.
(9)....The
country to have built the most vessels in ferro-cement is the
UK.
An estimated 9 million tons were built in the period
Sept 1943 to May 1944 alone.
(10)....Boats
have been built in ferro-cement from 10ft to 20,000 tons.
For amateur construction using the standard 'Hartley
truss frame', method
around 25ft is about the smallest that can be built
(smaller requires other methods).
(10a)....The
smallest and largest 'Hartley ferroboats', that have been
designed
are a 12ft dinghy and the 130ft Steam Yacht 'Blackwater
Lady'.
(11)....The
British designed a 120ft submarine in ferro-cement.
